It’s a new season! As we gladly welcome summer at Orr’s, we know that this is perhaps the best time of year to start truly motivating ourselves to eat healthy because there are a ton of local crops and produce available during peak season. It’s easy to think about eating well, but it’s more difficult to actually do it.

But why is adopting a nutritious lifestyle so difficult?

The truth is, it’s easy to associate healthy living with exercise, but we tend to forget the importance of healthy eating to balance the equation.

When it comes to the decisions we make at meal time, what if we told you there are tricks to staying motivated and committed to a new lifestyle? With our fresh farm products and the tips below, we’ll put you on the path to eating healthy year round.

1. Find Your “Why”

First things first: you should ask yourself what the reason behind altering your eating habits is. If you have a laser focus on your reasons, you can use it to your advantage as you set goals.

2. Talk to Your Doctor

If you are unsure where to begin or are new to the whole eating healthy thing, your doctor can be your number one source for information. He or she can help you identify the health areas to set your sights on improving. Plus, your doctor has access to your detailed health records and can suggest specific foods that could benefit your health.

3. Start Journaling

Writing down what you want to see and do for your healthy lifestyle gives you hard evidence to review during the peaks and valleys of this transformation. It can help reinforce why you are doing something, or set a picture in your mind as to where you want to be later on. Plus, a journal serves as a permanent record of our progress, which helps us recognize our strengths and weaknesses along the way. And even better: a journal helps us articulate the next steps in our healthy eating journey.

4. Pay Close Attention to How You Feel

Before you go on a binge-eating bender, remember exactly what it feels like when you’re eating healthy. We promise it will feel drastically different from an unbalanced diet. When we commit to nourishing our bodies with healthy choices, we get more energy and are less likely to come down with the sniffles.

5. Start Small and Find a Partner

People say to adopt a healthy habit it takes about a month of commitment. Instead of thinking of it as simply eating healthy, the key is to think of it as adopting a healthy lifestyle. Starting small and working your way up into a more intense routine can help you build repetition. Once you’ve committed to this way of life, make sure you have someone in your life that can help motivate you to make the change.

6. Reward Yourself

You get rewarded when you do things right. So reward yourself along the way. These rewards can serve as benchmarks that propel you into the next cycle. Just because you are working toward a new and improved you, doesn’t mean you can’t indulge every once in a while. Many food companies offer low-fat or lean versions of your favorite dishes. So instead of reaching for what you use to, reach the lean options to keep you on track.

No matter what it is, if you have the willpower to succeed, you will. Visit us down at the farm this summer to pick from the freshest farm products around that can help kick-start a healthy lifestyle!

There’s just something about our products that you just can’t get in the supermarket. First of all, we don’t want you to think of us as simply a specialty grocery store; we want you to think of us as a grocery store that creates special memories. Our family friendly atmosphere and locally grown produce will please just about any palate in your family.

So what are some of our personal favorites when it comes to our market? We’re giving you the rundown in this blog post. All you need to do is come to the market and check them out!

1) Baking Mixes

Our very own Orr’s Farm Market baking mixes are the perfect treat to complement our homegrown fruits. A personal favorite is the Pie Crust Mix, but we have plenty to choose from so you can find your favorite. These mixes really are convenient for baking in the kitchen and make baking a snap! Plus, with the pick-your-own season in full-swing, we have plenty of berries and cherries to give you the extra incentive to bake a homemade pie with homegrown berries!

2) Jams

Our jams are on sale all season long. Get two half pints of for $8. You can also get two pints of jam, salsas, and dressings for $11.

These jams, salsas, and dressing are the perfect summer snacks for your barbecue get together or just to indulge in on your own. Stop by to see our selections today.

3) Soups

Soups are for every season, and at Orr’s we have mixes by Frontier Soups that make lunch or dinner on-the-go quick, easy and delicious.

Two of Orr’s favorite “summer” soups are Tomato Basil and Tortilla, and we love the corn chowder. Want to make it a seasonal dish? Add some shrimp to the corn chowder mix, and you’ve made quite the summer snack.

So what’s the moral of this story? Not only can you come to Orr’s to pick seasonal fruit, but you can stop by the market to shop for local produce, snacks and West Virginia-made items! Things are heating up around here, and we hope you’ll visit us this summer to stock your fridge and fill your bellies!

As one of nature’s chief superfoods, our blueberries are plump and pretty, ready for you and the family to pick, eat and repeat! We look forward to watching the berry-stained faces and fingers as families leave with their baskets of berries at the end of their trip.

Besides being locally grown, our blueberries’ tang will have you coming back for more. You can pick-your-own for $3.29/lb. or $3.09/lb. if you purchase 10 lbs. or more. We’ll also have pre-picked blueberries at the market for your convenience.

Blueberries = Big Benefits

Blueberries are one of the most nutrient-dense foods in the world and contain a ton of power-packed benefits for your health mentally and physically. Blueberries are known to:

lower blood pressure

manage diabetes

reduce the risk of cancer

improve mental health

aid healthy digestion

Plus, blueberries are loaded with antioxidants which help ward off malicious molecules that can lead to a wide range of illnesses and chronic diseases.

Try this!

If you like to listen to your sweet tooth more than you like to hear what the doctor says, we’re sharing a favorite recipe that at least has this superfood as one of its ingredients. Try this as a Sunday treat, or bring this creation to your next backyard barbecue!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pie

Ingredients:

1 frozen pie crust, defrosted

4 c. blueberries

1 c. sugar

1/4 cornstarch

kosher salt

1/2 stick melted butter

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. old-fashioned oats

1/2 c. peanut butter

2/3 c. flour

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Toss blueberries with sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt. Pour mixture into pie crust.

Meanwhile, make the peanut butter-oat streusel. In a medium bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, oats, peanut butter, cinnamon, and flour. Stir with a fork until you form small crumbles. Place on top of blueberry mixture.

Bake until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden brown, about 1 hour. If the streusel is browning too quickly, cover with foil.

We’ll be bountiful with berries now and throughout most of July. We hope you’ll see us, pick berries, and most importantly make memories with your family on the farm. If the Peanut and Butter Jelly Pie looked too good to resist, we want you to comment below and let us know how yours turned out!

Summer is officially in full swing! We hope you’ve made the most of it so far. It’s a season of endless options. The warmer weather makes the outdoors our living room, the land gives us a bounty of wonderful foods, and the sun sticks around a few hours longer.

This time of year is unique because enjoying it can mean packing your days to the brim or doing next to nothing. Most of us spend our time somewhere in the middle, making a point to both relax and plan fun activities. If you’re looking for a perfect in-between option, a picnic fits the bill. Picnicking is a summertime classic. It’s something people of any and every age can enjoy. Why? Because a picnic can happen anywhere and with whatever foods you like! Plus, it requires little planning, it’s inexpensive, and it’s portable.

Did you know June 18is International Picnic Day? To celebrate, we thought we’d help you out with the two most important picnic decisions: Where to go and what to eat. Spend International Picnic Day at Orr’s! Come on down to the farm, grab your favorite fruits and veggies, spread your blanket on a patch of grass, and enjoy! All you need to do in advance is pack whatever you’d like to accompany your selections at the farm. Some good ideas include tortilla chips, whole-wheat crackers, cheese, nuts, hummus, and Greek yogurt veggie dip.

On June 18, as always, you can pick your own berries or you can check out what our market has to offer. Either way, it doesn’t get fresher than this! If you’ve never been to the farm, International Picnic Day would make for a great first visit. You can see all we have to offer while spending a relaxing afternoon with friends or family. We’d love to see our grounds filled with smiling faces that day. If you have any questions, give us a call at 304-263-1168.